N64 Vs. PSX: The Holiday Lineup

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What console has the better games this holiday season: PSX or N64? The real comparison.

By IGN Staff

That Was Then... Nintendo's holiday lineup last year was anything but impressive. Headlined by Rare's Diddy Kong Racing and Midway's San Francisco Rush, Nintendo 64's presence was engulfed in an onslaught of PlayStation hits. Titles like Tomb Raider 2, Final Fantasy VII, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night were in PSX abundance and as a result, Sony's numbers increased greatly while Nintendo's slumped.

This is Now... Nearly one year later the big 'N' is preparing for the holiday season once again, but this time around it's armed and on the offensive. The question is: Does Nintendo 64 finally have what it takes to give PlayStation's lineup a run for its money? We think so. In fact, we're confident that the '98 holiday season belongs to Nintendo.

But... All is not well in 64-bit land. Nintendo's console is still without any major RPGs, a fact made all the more evident with every Square release for PlayStation. And that's to say nothing of N64's pathetic fighter lineup. Admittedly, overall the selection has improved, but the system still has a long way to go.

The following is IGN64's comparison of games coming out this holiday season for Nintendo 64 and PlayStation. It's completely unbiased, so if you can't take a Nintendo 64 website giving praise to certain PlayStation software, we suggest you stop reading now. We're not going to sugarcoat anything. That said, we think you'll be pleasantly surprised overall.

Players take on the role of Solid Snake, a Special Forces operative on a mission to seek out and destroy nuclear weapons on an Alaskan military base. Snake, using advanced stealth techniques that stretch far beyond anything Rare's GoldenEye features, must also deal with gun-toting terrorists, solve puzzles and interact with computer-controller characters.

The game takes place in full 3D (utilizing a third-person perspective) via a finely-tuned polygonal engine, features beautiful real-time cut-scenes and is highly realistic. Its style -- dark, gloomy and cold -- often has players exploring warehouse air-conditioning shafts, snow-filled outside areas and tightly-secured, enemy guarded bases. Graphics and sound are top-notch, highly ambient and cinematic. Control is intuitive and options are limitless.

Years in the making, Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the company's biggest endeavor ever. Shigeru Miyamoto and team have taken the classic Zelda series and brought it into a fully-explorable 3D world of mass proportions. Players, controlling Link, can go anywhere and do just about anything. Mountains miles into the distance aren't just a bitmap image -- they're part of the game, and players can navigate them.

The game chronicles the travels of Link on a journey to save Princess Zelda from an evil kidnapper. Along the way, Link grows to manhood, learns new skills, magic and acquires new items and weaponry. He can even ride horses. The 32MB cart (256 megabit) is said to take 40 hours to complete -- and that's for skilled gamers who do everything right the first time through. To prove this fact further, Nintendo taped one of its game-testers playing through the game after he had already beaten it five times. It took him 40 hours.

What We Think: Though Metal Gear Solid is admittedly a great title, we believe Zelda 64 will deliver the all-around better gameplay experience. Here's why: Zelda takes longer to beat, the worlds are bigger, and it's far less linear. The game's control scheme is dead-on, with a lock-on system for close-battles and an arsenal of weapons to choose from. Zelda even features a handful of sub-games, including archery practice and a fishing engine, which, believe it or not, could be a separate game of its own.

That said, we're in no way saying Metal Gear Solid is a bad game. That would be a lie. Its cinematic feel is excellent and its theme, much more violent and serious than Zelda, is equally satisfying. But having played both, Zelda is clearly the better game.

Note: we realize that Zelda and MGS are two completely different games. However, they are also two system-selling flagship titles and, as so, will be indirectly competing with one-another. We recommend both.

The third game in the Crash franchise is easily the most finely tuned. The bandicoot, travelling through time, can now swim underwater and ride on various new animals. Also, his sister is also a playable character in the game on certain levels. And, on several levels, Crash's range of freedom, often limited to a set 3D path of sorts, has been expanded, though not to Mario 64-esque proportions. A bright sequel to the series.

Ups: Best looking Crash yet. A plethora of new options. Humorous series. Near full-3D levels.

You've read our review of this game so you know we love it. Players take on the role of Evo, a robot that possesses the unique ability to jump inside and inhabit the bodies of dead animals. After crash-landing on an ancient space station, Evo must put his talent to full use, taking over various robotic animals to achieve specific objectives. It's half-puzzle, half-platformer -- all hilarious. We're willing to concede that Crash looks a hell of a lot better than Silicon Valley, but there's no way it's as addictive as DMA's title.

Downs: Graphics don't look so good compared to the flashy Crash series.

What We Think: This is a tough one. On one hand you've got Crash, Sony's mascot of sorts. The game is extremely pretty to look at and it's also a lot of fun to play. Silicon Valley, on the other hand, is ugly by comparison, but it is definitely more original. It is our opinion that SV is the more addictive of the two, but also the more simplistic.

According to IGNPSX's Randy Nelson, Xenogears is "Square's best RPG since FF7 and it's even better in some respects."

N64 Title: None.

What We Think: N64 owners will never have an RPG that can challenge the likes of Square's offerings. Earthbound 64 may come close next year, but the hard truth of the matter is that PSX is much better equipped to handle the epic storylines and cinematics behind today's RPGs.

Lara Croft returns for one more go-around. This time, the game is running in high-resolution mode, features new graphic effects, more Croft animations, enemies, weapons and moves. The worlds are bigger and more complex. Other than that, it's Tomb Raider all over again.

In development forever, Body Harvest pits players as a time-travelling space soldier out to destroy a violent alien race devouring the human race. Using a variety of vehicles, players do battle with monstrous insects across different time periods and regions. The game's graphics leave a lot to be desired, but it's addictive and significantly fun nonetheless. It's like being trapped in a 1950's B-movie filled with giant, man-eating insects.

What We Think: Body Harvest, admittedly a great game, lacks the graphic finesse of the Tomb Raider series. It also has its share of control problems. That said, it's highly original and fresh. Tomb Raider III is the best of the series and is bound to sell billions -- make that trillions of copies. Lara looks better than ever, Core has implemented some significant new graphic effects and the classic level design is back for once more. We don't see how it can lose. Still, the series is getting tiresome.

Note: we realize both games are significantly different, but they do represent both console's action/adventure offerings.

The sequel to Psygnosis' hit space-shooter. Colony Wars 2 is hugely improved over the original with enhanced graphics and new land-based missions. The story-line turns the tables on gamers, pitting them as "enemy" forces of last year's game. Trademark Psygnosis style returns with an interesting storyline, top graphics and sound.

The name says it all. The Star Wars franchise returns to Nintendo 64 courtesy of Factor 5 and LucasArts. Gamers assume the role of Luke Skywalker long before he became a Jedi Knight. The game takes place somewhere between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back as Luke and Rebels battle it out with the dark side using a variety of trademark Star Wars ships. Remember Shadows of the Empire's Battle of Hoth level? That's what Rogue is all about, only it's all been improved.

What We Think: With the Star Wars name attached to it, Rogue Squadron will easily outsell Colony Wars 2 significantly, but that means nothing. Both games play and look stunning, though Rogue runs in 640x480 high-resolution mode with the use of Nintendo's 4MB expansion pak. Both games sound great. And both games play wonderfully, though it should be noted that Colony Wars 2 serves up space and ground-based missions whereas Rogue is limited to land. Everything said and done though, we'd be liars if we said we didn't prefer Rogue to Colony Wars 2. Sorry -- nothing beats Star Wars, and with Factor 5/LucasArts on the job, the game is truly impressive.

Huge. Turok 2 is on track to be one of the biggest selling games this holiday season. The title, which runs in 640x480 high-resolution mode, is the only first-person shooter coming out on any home console before the end of the year. It's extremely bloody, beautiful and serious. It's also, alongside Zelda, the biggest cartridge game ever.

Verdict Though both home-consoles have quite a few goodies coming out this holiday season, we think Nintendo 64 owners, overall, have the most to be excited about. From Zelda to Turok 2, N64 has nearly every genre covered -- and with decidedly better offerings than PSX. But what happened to the RPGs?